Kensington Swan's view on aspects of the construction industry

Menu

Monthly Archives: March 2016

Tan Jinghui’s annual review of construction project dispute resolution in China, published in the Construction Law Journal, offers several interesting insights into the Chinese construction industry. The review surveys the disputes heard by the Supreme People’s Court in 2014. The most common reasons for disputes involved the carrying out of construction work using other contractor’s…

Nauhria Precast Limited was announced winner of the ultimate Supreme Business Excellence Award and the Excellence in Innovation category of the Westpac Auckland Business Best of the Best 2015 awards held in Auckland last night. The precast concrete manufacturer and supplier had emerged victorious from the regional awards last year, winning both the Supreme Business…

Cash-flow is king in the construction industry, and the recent collapse of Stonewood Homes provides another reminder about the need to protect subcontractors from such an event. The collapse of Stonewood Homes is just a high profile example of an all too common occurrence in the industry, that ultimately results in subcontractors suffering the most.…

It all started with three steel mesh retailers: Brilliance Steel Ltd and Euro Corporation Ltd agreed to stop selling certain steel products following tests that raised questions over whether the products complied with the relevant standard (AS/NZS 4671:2001) – article here. Steel and Tube issued test certificates that appeared to be from a lab which…

The NZ Herald has reported that homeowners are paying millions to decontaminate ‘P-riddled’ properties, in a crisis that, according to the Herald, could rival the leaky homes disaster. One industry expert states that the proportion of homes testing positive for methamphetamine residue sits at 40% of those tested. Clean up costs range from low to…

Building company Kimble Contracting Limited entered into a fixed price agreement with property developer VH Five SPV Limited. As expected, the parties agreed the timing of payment claims, when the principal was to issue its payment schedules, and thereafter when payment of the scheduled amount would occur. Unusually in this contract, those ‘timetable’ terms…

The call for women to join the construction industry or take up a trade is growing according to a New Zealand Herald article published today. While statistics published by Statistics New Zealand in 2013 report a working-age population that is over 50% female, females make up just 5% of all trades workers in New Zealand. Nancy…

Tauranga City Council is partnering with engineering consultants Beca and LandLab for its ‘Access to Water’ project – the construction of tidal stairs, Masonic Pier and a pontoon for the city’s waterfront. Detailed design is yet to be completed, but construction is anticipated to begin in July/August 2016, with completion for summer 2016/2017. The estimated…

The truck is fitted with a large arching roller frame, upon which ‘lego-block’ concrete blocks can be loaded. As the truck moves forward, the concrete blocks fall into place. Watch the video below for a demonstration. Lock-Block Ltd developed the Arch-lock system, which boasts 1.5m of arch construction every 5 minutes. The system can be…

Reading International announced yesterday that it would begin work on the construction of a long-deferred Countdown supermarket. The new supermarket will be located on top of the surface car park on Wakefield Street, immediately behind the Reading Entertainment complex on Courtenay Place. Countdown has appointed Naylor Love as head contractor for the supermarket. Reading’s plans…